Computer-implemented searching may be performed in many languages, and is a useful tool that has many applications. Some languages, such as English, are more conducive to searching because of the way that they are structured and organized. Other languages, such as Japanese have not been conducive for structured, organized computer-implemented searching.
Written Japanese is complex and inherently ambiguous for many reasons. Writing or typing Japanese typically involves the use of a combination of three orthographic scripts—kanji, katakana, and hiragana. For example, a single word may contain a combination of two scripts, while a single phrase may contain a combination of all three scripts. Writers of Japanese may also use the Latin alphabet in a form called romaji or romanization, allowing for even more variations. In addition, both Japanese and Arabic numerals may be used to represent numbers, resulting in even more variations. Thus, complexities arise because a given semantic concept can be written using multiple orthographic (written) forms. Likewise, a given orthographic form can have multiple meanings, depending on the pronunciation (or contextual reading) of the written form. In other words, such orthographic forms are inherently ambiguous, and can only be disambiguated based on how the written form is pronounced or read.
As a result of these complexities and ambiguities inherent in the Japanese language, developers have struggled to implement text-based search tools for the Japanese language (e.g., in the context of computerized information). While some existing search tools, including the Goo search engine (www.goo.ne.jp), have Japanese language searching capabilities, at best, these tools are based on simple text pattern matching and are not based on any intelligence by the system about either the semantics of a given expression or its orthography (i.e., the fact that a given written expression can be written in numerous ways).
In the drawings, the same reference numbers identify identical or substantially similar elements or acts. To facilitate the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced (e.g., element 204 is first introduced and discussed with respect to FIG. 2).